


Crash

by iiitsKatastrophic



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, What is alpha/beta/omega without sex, sorry no sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-01
Updated: 2013-03-01
Packaged: 2017-12-03 23:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/704016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iiitsKatastrophic/pseuds/iiitsKatastrophic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new chemist gives Arthur the wrong chemicals, his body can't handle it.  So what is Cobb to do?  Call in Eames, of course!</p><p>It's really more fluff than anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crash

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fic in this fandom and on this site so please be nice! I haven't written anything in a while but I absolutely fell in love with Arthur and Eames and I know it's a bit oc for Arthur to be all needy but I think it fit along with the story line. I just really like Eames taking care of Arthur.

                It wasn’t a huge change that tipped Arthur off that something was wrong.  It was small, really, the temperature raising a few degrees here, an overheated room there, a burned out light bulb.  These would be normal everyday occurrences in the real world.  The problem, though, was that this wasn’t the real world.  He was in a dream.  It was a practice run with Cobb and their current architect, Lydia.

                She had potential, but she struggled with more complex structures and her mazes occasionally had too many dead ends.  Had Ariadne not gone to finish her schooling, she would be here with a not-exactly-retired Cobb running through mazes and designing cities.

                The job was a simple extraction.  A four man job.  The chemist, Craig, was new but recommended by Yusuf.  He was still green behind the ears, but had done well in his schooling, though he yearned for excitement after graduation, hence entering the dream share scene.

                The climate change was enough to keep Arthur on alert, however, even if it was a practice run.  He looked over to where Cobb was standing in front of a church, pointing out some detail for Lydia to focus on.  The man had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows but otherwise didn’t seem to notice the slightly brighter sun glaring down on them.  Granted, Cobb wouldn’t know a train was pulling up to the station unless it hit him in the face.

                Being the perfectionist point man he was he couldn’t ignore the heat in his dream.  Especially when there was no arguable reason for it to be there.

                “Cobb,” Arthur spoke, moving towards the pair in front of the church, “I think something is wrong.”  His collar was beginning to feel a bit too tight.

                Arthur watched the man’s hand twitch slightly in the direction of his gun as he glanced around, no doubt looking for angry projections.

                “What’s the matter?” The extractor finally asked when Arthur came to a stop in front of him, finding no problem himself.

                Arthur sighed, hating that the problem may be stemming from some sort of weakness in himself, but he couldn’t lie to Cobb, “it’s hot.”

                Dom’s eyes widened in surprise for a split second before tucking a finger behind his collar and pulling it to the side as if taking in the heat for the first time.

                “Did you go under with your jacket?”  Lydia inquired, glancing around at the people walking around them.  The projections were starting to give them curious looks.

                Arthur shook his head, “it wouldn’t affect me like this.  And it’s still heating up in here.”  He was the dreamer for the round so what he was feeling on the outside would no doubt affect the atmosphere of the dream.

                “Arthur,” Dom stepped forward, taking Arthur by the elbow.  Arthur did his best not to hiss at the contact when it sent fire coursing through his veins, “when are you due?”

                The point man could feel his stomach drop.  “N-not for another month and a half.”

                “Have you been irregular before?”  Dom asked, finally removing his grip from the younger man, seeming to notice that he could be doing more harm than good.  Of course his receptive alpha instincts would kick in after he’d practically burned Arthur’s elbow off.

                “No, Cobb,” Arthur snapped, becoming irritable with what ridiculously resembled the puberty talk, “I know what heat feels like and this isn’t it.”

                “Ok, alright,” Dom held his hands up in a calming manner, “let’s get out of here then.  We’ll see if something is going on topside.”

                Arthur lifted his glock to his temple as Lydia mused about the air conditioner malfunctioning.

****

                Dom blinked awake to see the warehouse ceiling come slowly in to focus.  He sat up from his rickety lawn chair immediately noticing the chill of the air conditioner.  The heat in Arthur’s dream wasn’t environmental then.

                They weren’t under attack either.  Dom chanced a glance over at Lydia who was already waking up and pulling the cannula from her wrist.  Craig was just behind her, checking over the PASIV.

                Finally, Dom’s eyes drifted over to his point man.  Arthur was still lying down with the cannula still in place.  This was enough cause for worry in itself but Dom could see a layer of sweat forming on every inch of his friend’s exposed skin.  He could also see the other man’s chest rising and falling in short breaths.  He was by his side instantly.

                “Arthur?” Dom questioned, moving to pull out the needle still embedded in Arthur’s wrist with as little skin contact as possible, “Arthur, I need you to tell me what’s wrong.”

                “’s too hot,” Arthur slurred, doing his best to focus on the extractor standing next to him.  “Feel fuzzy too.”

                At this point, Lydia came over with a cold bottle of water and concern in her eyes.  “Arthur, sweetie, try to drink some water, alright,” she handed him the bottle with a soft hand on his shoulder and if Cobb hadn’t been there he wouldn’t have believed that Arthur had, indeed, yelped at the contact because Arthur  just doesn’t yelp.

                Dom could understand the pain when he, an alpha, touched Arthur, but Lydia was a beta and her touch should not have that kind of effect on an omega.

                The alpha protectiveness inside him flared at seeing his friend in…was it distress?

                He quickly ruled out the environment, and Arthur had been perfectly fine before they went under, Dom turned his attention to the chemist.

                The other beta’s eyes widened slightly but he stood his ground.  “My chemicals are top of the line.  They’ve been through lots of tests, too.  They’re perfectly stable,” Craig argued before Dom could even ask.

                Dom turned back to Arthur once more.  The point man was attempting to stand up but ended up stumbling as soon as he pushed off his chair.  Instinctively, Dom reached out to stead his friend, only remembering his apparently oversensitive skin when Arthur hissed.

                “Sorry, sorry, let’s just sit you down again,” Dom offered, moving as quickly as possible.  It was as he was leading Arthur to a proper chair when Dom noticed it. 

                Arthur’s smell was all wrong.  It didn’t smell like him, like the straight edged, organized man he was.  It was all confused and just not Arthur.  This kind of thing doesn’t happen unless medically altered or drugged.

                “Craig!” Dom raised his voice, turning to the chemist once more, “What, exactly, did you give us?”

                “It’s not my drugs!” The chemist defended, “I didn’t give him anything different from you! And you’re just fine.”

                Dom froze. “Arthur,” the blonde man faced his friend, “can you please tell me all your symptoms.”

                Arthur looked up from where his was sitting, loosening his tie, lips a thin line, and were it not for the layer of sweat coating his skin Dom would think it was business as usual, “fever, oversensitivity to touch, heightened smell.  Christ it’s like a heat, but it’s not, it’s too fuzzy.  I don’t have good control over my limbs either.”

                “Craig,” Dom once more laid his eyes on the young chemist, “have you ever met an omega?  I know they are quite rare, but believe it or not, they are out there.”

                Craig visibly swallowed and then nodded, “yes but-“

                “Please tell me you did not make the most elementary and juvenile mistake that a chemist can make by ignoring the records and going with your nose.  Especially since you’re a beta!”

                “It’s what I always-“

                “Oh and always is what, twice before? Christ! You’re a beta.  Your nose doesn’t pick everything up well enough, not that you should do it like that even if you’re not a beta.”

                “But I-“

                “No! You said you’ve met omegas before, correct?”

                “Yes, two of them.”

                “Have you ever met a bonded omega?”

                The chemist paled.  Dom heard Lydia gasp off to the side.

                “If there is a next time,” Dom seethed, getting up in Craig’s face and asserting his dominance, “which will most definitely not be on any team of mine, you would be wise to check the records that your point man provides for you.”

                “Cobb?”

                Dom whirled around once more to the point man.

                “Cobb, I need to get out of here,” Arthur winced when Lydia took a sympathetic step closer, “’m crashing.”

                “Right,” the extractor breathed, “Lydia, I’m sorry but could you keep some distance, please? It’s not exactly a chemically induced heat, but it’s close enough on how it’s affecting his senses right now.”

                The architect nodded, backing as far away as possible and not meeting Cobb’s eyes, showing that she was not a threat.

                “Arthur,” Dom spoke softly as he took the younger man under an arm to help him stand, “what do you need?”

                “Get Eames,” Arthur whimpered and Dom swore he could see red for a minute.

                Arthur may not be his omega, no his bond with Mal didn’t die just because she did, but he still saw Arthur as family, as his pack and he was very protective of the younger man.

                “Ok, ok, where is he?” Dom soothed as he led Arthur out of the warehouse and in to the cool evening air.  Hopefully the chill would bring the man some comfort.

                “Dubai,” was the croaked response he received.

                “Jesus,” Cobb sighed, it would be a day before the forger could get here.  “Is there anyone nearby who can help you in the meantime?” He asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

                “No,” Arthur shook his head, curling as far away from Cobb as he could, which wasn’t far considering the man was practically holding him up, “just get me Eames.”

****

_Ra ra ah ah ah ah roma-_

                Eames groaned, rolling over and answering the phone that was ringing on his bedside table, “’ullo?”

                “God dammnit, Eames, you’re a hard man to get a hold of.”

                “Ah, Cobb,” Eames hummed sarcastically, “to what do I own the pleasure of this lovely ring?”

                “I’m in Sacramento and I need you here, like, yesterday.”

                Eames sat up, alertness rushing into his brain at Cobb’s tone, “what happened?”

                “Green chemist,” Eames could hear the extractor growl, “thought Arthur was an alpha.  Chemicals caused a crash.”

                Cobb didn’t even finish the sentence before Eames was dressed and carrying his duffel bag out the door, not once looking back at the hotel room he was abandoning.

               

                “What happened?” Eames growled as soon as he was in the rental car with Dom.  It was probably misdirected anger but Cobb was supposed to keep Arthur safe while he was away.

                Cobb took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to explain so that he wouldn’t get strangled before getting to Arthur who has been suffering by himself for almost 24 hours now.

                “We were doing a practice run; Arthur noticed something was wrong so we woke ourselves up.  Turns out the chemist followed his nose instead of his paperwork.  Gave me and Arthur the same mix and then Arthur crashed.

                “Where’s this chemist from?” Eames was pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stay calm.

                “Yusuf recommended him.”

                “Bloody hell.”

                “I already called him,” Dom chanced a glance at the other alpha, “and he apologizes profusely.”

                Eames shook his head, he’d deal with the blame game later, right now he needed to focus on Arthur.  “What’s wrong with him?  What do I need to do?”

                “Ok,” Cobb began, turning a corner a bit faster than necessary but Eames didn’t mention it, “Yusuf said that since he was injected with alpha chemicals his body believes that a suitable alpha is nearby.  This would normally push someone in to a rather uncomfortable chemically induced heat.”

                “But?” Eames asked with a raised eyebrow.

                “But he’s bonded and the bond is fighting with the ‘unknown alpha’ so now his natural chemistry has basically gone to war on itself.  It’s also caused any contact with anyone else to be painful for him,”  When Eames didn’t say anything, Cobb continued what he’d learned from Yusuf, “Yusuf said, just like any other drug, it should flush out of his system on its own, but it could take a couple of days depending on how his body is reacting.”

                “It’ll be faster if I’m there?”

                Eames saw Cobb nod out of the corner of his eye, “if you’re there then hopefully your presence will be strong enough to override the mess in his system faster.  He’s been pretty bad.”

                “How long has it been?”

                “Almost 22 hours now.”

“Bloody fucking Christ,” Eames muttered.

 They were pulling up to the hotel now and Eames would have stopped to appreciate how nice the place was if his omega wasn’t currently suffering from a chemical breakdown, “I haven’t been able to get anywhere near him since I got him back here.  He’s got all the symptoms of a heat but without the instincts of it.”

                Cobb stopped in front of the door, digging a key out of his pocket, “819.  Take care of him Eames.”

                Eames didn’t say anything, just nodding as he took the key from Cobb.

 

                As soon as he opened the door to the room, his senses were thrown in to overdrive.  He could smell Arthur, but it certainly did not smell right.

                Looking around the room it would not seem like Arthur was the one currently residing here.  The bed was unmade, clothes littered the floor and one of the chairs at the small table in the corner was overturned.

                On the far side of the room the door to the bathroom was open and Eames could hear the shower running.

                He stepped through the door not feeling the humidity in the air that normally settles from a hot shower.

                His heart wrenched at the sight of Arthur sitting in the tub with his knees hugged tight to his chest, head ducked low, keeping the spray from directly hitting his face.

                Arthur didn’t seem to notice as Eames approached, the water probably drowning his scent before it could reach the point man.

                Worried about the lack of reaction, Eames reached forwards to shut off the water.  This caused an immediate response from Arthur whose head snapped up immediately.

                It was half a second before recognition and relief settled in Arthur’s eyes, “Eames,” was breathed through his lips and he was reaching over the side of the tub for the forger with a clumsy desperation.

                “Oh, pet,” Eames sympathized, dropping to his knees to pull Arthur close.  He was mildly surprised at how cold Arthur’s skin was and barely restrained a gasp when the man buried his frozen face in the crook of Eames neck, breathing in deeply the scent of his bonded alpha.  Eames briefly wondered how long Arthur had sat in the cool shower, no doubt to combat whatever fever was plaguing his body.

                Eames felt a tiny flicker of rage in his chest for the chemist that made his omega like this.  He had never seen Arthur with such a look of pure desperation in his eyes, the situation completely out of the point man’s control.

                He couldn’t linger on the thought, though; he was brought back to reality when he could feel Arthur begin to shiver in his arms.  He wasn’t convinced that it was all completely from the cold water.

                “Arthur, darling,” Eames spoke as he eased Arthur off his shoulder so that he could look him in the eyes.  “You’re freezing.  I need to get you dried off, ok?”

                Arthur gave the slightest nod but when Eames turned to grab a towel from the rack the younger man could not hide his panic as he grasped as the forger’s shirt to keep him in place next to the tub.

                “Don’t...don’t leave,” Arthur pleaded and Eames heart broke as a tear feel from his lover’s eye.

                “I’m not going anywhere, love,” Eames soothed, pushing the fallen bangs out of Arthur’s face.  “I’m just grabbing a towel,” he explained, pulling Arthur’s trembling fingers from his shirt, “how about this,” he continued, arranging Arthur’s grip so that now the point man had two hands holding on to his one, “you hang on to my hand there and if I get too far away you can pull me back, yeah?”

                Arthur let out a shaky break, he was still shivering, “ok, yeah, sorry.”  He apologized but didn’t let go.

                Eames smiled, just barely reaching a fluffy towel before kneeling once again by the tub.

                “I need both of my hands now, darling,” the older man said as he threw the towel over his shoulder.  He repositioned Arthur’s grip so that now he was handing on to the front of Eames’ bright yellow t-shirt.  “There, now you keep a hold of that in case I start floating away and if you start to feel a bit frisky then, well, you’re no stranger to that.  Just lift that right off me if I prove to be too irresistible.” He winked.

                That earned a roll of the eyes from Arthur followed by a small smile.  It was promising.

                When he was satisfied that Arthur was dry enough, Eames helped Arthur to stand and with lightning-like reflexes, he caught the point man when he stumbled over the lip of the tub.

                “Legs are heavy,” Arthur mumbled into Eames solid chest where he was currently trying to inhale as much of the alpha’s scent as he could.

                Arthur felt Eames chuckle more than he heard it.  He squeaked slightly when he felt himself being lifted off the ground and had he been feeling 100% he may have protested at how undignified it made him look but at the moment the only thing he cared about was absorbing Eames presence.  He focused on his scent and where Eames’ bare arms came in to contact with his bare back.  It felt so good to have Eames this close and Eames would be the only one who could ever hold him like this.

                Eames gently placed Arthur on the bed and under the covers back in the main room and he smiled lightly when his omega curled on his side so that he was facing him.

                “How are you feeling?” Eames asked, reaching out to gently card his fingers through Arthur’s hair.

                Arthur sighed, letting his eyes drift shut at the action.  “I feel,” he paused trying to find the right word, “unbalanced.”

                The forger’s brow furrowed, “do you want to debrief me?”

                Arthur nodded, maneuvering sluggishly on the bed and motioning for Eames to take a seat.  This pulled a grin from Eames; the point man was still in there, not completely overrun by the crash.  Or at least he was able to make an appearance while the desperate omega in Arthur was calming down a bit.

                “We were in a practice run.  Probably 10 minutes.  It was too hot,” Arthur let his eyes drift shut once more, the events of the last day were catching up and he was becoming tired, “I told Cobb and we got out.  I’m not sure exactly what happened next.  He was really mad, but I couldn’t focus on anything.  I was too over sensitized.  The chemist messed up.”

                “He thought you were an alpha.”

                Arthur nodded, “followed his nose instead of his notes.”

                “He smelled me,” Eames grimaced at the thought of indirectly hurting his omega.

                “Still his fault,” Arthur yawned, nudging at Eames hand where he’d stopped his petting.

                “What happened after?” 

                Arthur, who was growing increasingly exhausted, reached up to gently pull on Eames hand.  The older man chuckled, and taking the hint he kicked off his shoes and shimmied out of his pants.  Arthur was quite adorable like this.  Eames crawled under the blankets, pulling Arthur so that he was flush against his body.

                Arthur, however, was not satisfied at his boyfriend’s state of undress.  He tugged lightly as the hem of the yellow cotton shirt that Eames was still wearing.  “Off,” he commanded with a pout.

                Eames laughed lightly as he awkwardly pulled the garment over his head and shucking it across the room.  No sooner had the shirt left his finger tips than Arthur was on him, burying his face in the crook of Eames’ neck once more.  He was filling his lungs with the scent of his bonded. 

               

                Eames let him, knowing that his scent often calmed Arthur, and he needed it now more than ever.

                “Knew you wouldn’t be able to resist.”   

                “Shut up, Eames,” Arthur growled with a pinch to the man’s side.  “I think Cobb yelled at him,” Arthur murmured, continuing his story from earlier, “I don’t know if he’s continuing with the job.”

                “He needs a new chemist, then,” Eames growled.

                “It’s kind of late to get a new guy in here,” Arthur said, not exactly disagreeing, just laying out the facts, “and I doubt Craig would make the same mistake twice.”

                “Well then he needs to find a new point man because I don’t that kid pumping any more chemicals in to you,” Eames mumbled, tightening his arms around Arthur and pulling the smaller man so that he was lying half on top of him.

                Arthur chuckled, he may sometimes act like it annoys him, but it unleashes a warm feeling in his stomach when Eames gets protective.  It makes him feel wanted.

                “I didn’t let Dom get anyone else. He kept asking if there was anyone close by that could help when he found out you were in Dubai.  I didn’t let anyone else near me,” Arthur told him, unsure of why Eames even needed to know in the first place, but he felt like he needed to say it for some reason.

                Eames rewarded him by nuzzling his nose in Arthur’s hair, “so good, my omega.”

                And that was what he was going for, the pride that swelled in his chest from his alpha’s approval.  Arthur smiled in to Eames’ neck.  It still amazed him sometimes that such little things affected him so.

                “I crashed pretty quickly,” Arthur explained after a few minutes, “as soon as I got to the room I made Dom leave.  I felt fuzzy.  Still do.  I don’t know how long I just sat on the bed.  I lost a bit of time but I don’t think I left or anything bad.  Just, I remember it being hot.  Too hot.  That’s why I got in the cold shower.  I don’t know how long I was in there, not long.  Then you showed up.  Any questions?”

                Eames snorted.  It was so Arthur to end it all business=like.

                “Do you feel better now?”

                Arthur was thoughtful for a second, “yeah, a little bit.  It’s not hot anymore.  Not so fuzzy anymore, just really tired, and I don’t think I have very good control over my limbs yet.  Senses are still up.  You smell really good, by the way.”

                Eames smiled, placing a gentle kiss on Arthur’s forehead, “why thank you, darling.”

                “You feel good too,” Arthur practically purred as he rubbed his cheek against Eames’ bare chest.

                “Oh yeah?”

                “Not like that, perv,” Arthur pinched him once more, “When Lydia or Cobb touched me earlier, it hurt.  It felt like I was burning where they touched me, but you feel nice.  Safe.  It feels like you’re balancing me out.”

                “I’m glad to hear that,” Eames hummed, “not the pain part, but that I’m the only one who can touch you.”  He then remembered, “Have you eaten at all?  Are you hungry?”

                Arthur yawned once more, reaching behind him where Eames arm was laying straight out on the bed under him and he pulled it so that the forger was hugging his waist, “I’ll eat later.  Sleep, now.”

                Eames kissed Arthur once more on the forehead, “sweet dreams, my love.”

                Arthur hummed in response, breathing evening out in mere seconds.


End file.
